Braves send Clayton Kershaw packing and break things open vs Dodgers (Video)

The Braves broke things open in the sixth inning against Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers

The Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers were in the midst of a tight 1-1 game Thursday night in Game 4 of the NLCS. Then came the bottom of the sixth inning.

Clayton Kershaw was still on the mound and had looked solid up to that point in the game. The wheels, unfortunately, came off in what marked his return to the mound after dealing with back spasms. Freddie Freeman got the scoring started and the line kept moving after him.

Braves offense comes alive in the sixth

Freeman’s double made it a 2-1 game and Kershaw needed to regroup. He was unable to do that as Marcell Ozuna came up and hit a double of his own to make it 3-1.

That was enough to knock Kershaw out of the game. However, reliever Brusdar Graterol could not do much better in relief and was pulled himself once the score became 6-1 in the same inning.

Victor Gonzalez had to come in and even he could not avoid the hit parade. The inning mercifully ended on a Freeman groundout with the score at 7-1.

Freeman, Ozuna, Dansby Swanson, Austin Riley, and Cristian Pache all drove in runs in the inning and the Dodgers must be shell-shocked. Kershaw’s return was spoiled and what seemed like a close game changed in the manner of a half-inning.

That is the tough part about going up against this Braves lineup. There is no legitimate weak spot and rallies are waiting to begin at any moment. The error that put Ronald Acuña Jr. at second base to start the inning was a terrible mistake and we saw the end result.